Vermont Business Magazine Today, the US Justice Department published a list of states, cities, and counties identified as having policies, laws, or regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws. All the states and all the jurisdictions listed are in "Blue" states, with the exception of Nevada and Philadelphia, as Nevada and Pennsylvania flipped to "Red" in the last presidential election. Vermont is on the list.
In recent months, the Justice Department has filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions seeking to compel compliance with federal law, including one against New York City on July 24. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville agreed to revoke their sanctuary policies following a letter from the Justice Department threatening legal action.
“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens. The Executive Order recognized that “some State and local officials . . . continue to use their authority to violate, obstruct, and defy the enforcement of Federal immigration laws” and “[i]t is imperative that the Federal Government restore the enforcement of United States law.”
The Executive Order directed the Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, to publish a list of such jurisdictions. Accordingly, the following states, cities, and counties have been identified as sanctuary jurisdictions:
STATES:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
COUNTIES:
- Baltimore County, MD
- Cook County, IL
- San Diego County, CA
- San Francisco County, CA
CITIES:
- Albuquerque, NM
- Berkeley, CA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- East Lansing, MI
- Hoboken, NJ
- Jersey City, NJ
- Los Angeles, CA
- New Orleans, LA
- New York City, NY
- Newark, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portland, OR
- Rochester, NY
- Seattle, WA
- San Francisco City, CA
Read more about the sanctuary jurisdiction list and the criteria for inclusion here. This list is not exhaustive, Justice stated, and will be updated as federal authorities gather further information. The federal government will assist any jurisdiction that desires to be taken off this list to identify and eliminate their sanctuary policies, so they no longer stand in opposition to federal immigration enforcement.
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